Chapter 29
Amy and Shadow watch in horror as Sonic's form begins to change, her clothes turned a midnight blue, gloves flickered with dark energy and were pointed almost like claws and her shoes became a deep red. Her spines pointed up and became a deep blue as she smiles sinisterly at Abyss. "What in the…" Abyss began to say as she lets go of his hand and grabs him by the throat then smashes him into the ground making a crater,
"She told you to stop touching her." She said looking at him angry,
"Sonic?" Amy called out as she turns her head towards him.
"Sonic isn't here right now, please leave a message." She said winking at him as she continued to chuckle grabbing Abyss and throwing him across the room with ease.
"Damnit…" Shadow creates a Chaos Spear and stabs at the field, but the spear just dissipates after making contact with it.
"Shadow… is that?" Amy asked,
"Yeah, it's Dark Sonic," Shadow said, Amy had never experienced Dark Sonic first hand, but he could feel the energy coming off of her was terrifying.
"I'd prefer, Fleetway if you don't mind." She said,
"Fleetway?" Shadow looked confused,
"Way easier for you not to confuse me with Sonic." She said walking over next to Shadow,
"Let us out." Shadow said slamming her fists against the field.
"Now, now Shadow, I need something back first and I know you'll just try to stop me." Fleetway said shaking her finger then turns her head towards Black Doom, "Hey ugly! You took something from me, and I want it back."
"Come and take it." Black Doom said,
"With pleasure." She speeds forward as she jumps into the air and spin dashes him, but he blocks.
"Hey! Can any of you guys move yet?" Amy called out towards Knuckles and the others,
"Cream and I can move." Blaze said helping Cream sit up, "But we're still trapped."
"I can't move yet…" Knuckles said, "Tails, did you recognize that name?"
"Yeah…" Tails said struggling to sit up,
"What, Fleetway?" Shadow asked,
"Yeah, it was the name of Super Sonic's alter ego when he became poisoned with too much Chaos energy and lost his mind." Tails explained, as they watched her land a hit on Black doom as Abyss starts getting up. He started getting ready to attack from behind.
"Sonic behind you!" Amy yells as Fleetway turns around seeing Abyss. She speeds next to him and grabs his arm throwing him over her and slamming him into the ground then steps on his back while holding onto his arm.
"Oh I have plans for you buddy. Only I'm allowed to mess with Saya." She said stepping on his back and pulling at his arm dislocating it as he yells in pain. "Now wait your turn while I deal with this thief." She stops before charging at Black Doom again, turns and looks at Amy, "Hey Ames?"
"Y…yeah?" Amy was hesitant to respond.
"Call me Sonic again and I'll break your legs." She said turning back at Black Doom and attacking him again.
"Scary…" Amy said,
"What else do you know about Fleetway?" Shadow asked Tails and Knuckles,
"They were a mindless killing machine, killing just for the fun of it. But after some time Fleetway changed. I'm not exactly sure how." Tails explained,
"Changed how?" Blaze asked,
"The lack of Chaos energy, it mellowed Fleetway out." Knuckles said,
"How did Sonic beat them?" Cream asked,
"He didn't… Sonic and Fleetway became one person again and after some time Fleetway just disappeared." Tails said,
"That doesn't help us…" Shadow said,
"Enough!" Black Doom grasps the Dark Chaos shard and waves of Chaos energy surrounding Fleetway as she's restrained in the air,
"Cheater!" Fleetway snarled as she struggled,
"Perhaps you can explain your resonance with this Shard." He said,
"That's none of your business!" She said glared,
"I will discover your secrets. Now tell me, why is it soul bound to you?" He asked sounding annoyed. All three on his eyes glow as Fleetway's eyes flash the same glow,
"S…Stay out of our head!" Fleetway said closing her eyes trying to fight the physic intrusion.
"I see, so your death caused this Genesis wave because of N…" Black Doom started to say as Fleetway cut him off,
"No! Don't say it! You can't tell her!" She yelled trying to break free starting to panic as she looks at Shadow with desperation, "The seven servers are the seven Chaos, Chaos if power, power enriched by the heart, the heart is the controller, the controller serves to unify the Chaos…" The Chaos Shield around Shadow fades as Shadow's body begins to glow a bright gold, "Chaos Control!" She yelled causing Shadow to go Super.
"What in the?" Amy said as the rest of the Chaos Shields disappear.
"Fleetway just made Shadow go Super." Tails said looking shocked,
"But why?" Cream asked,
"Doesn't matter, I finish off Black Doom and then we detain her." Shadow said as she looks at Black Doom and charges at him as they engage in battle.
"Abyss is getting away!" Blaze points as they see his leave the room.
"We can't go after him; Knuckles still can't move." Amy said,
"Working on it…" Knuckles said trying to get his body to move, the sparked green energy still flickering off him.
"They're moving too fast for me to see, But it looks like Shadow's winning." Tails said,
"She definitely has him on the defensive." Blaze said,
"As long as he has the Dark Chaos shard he's got an advantage, but hopefully not for long." Amy said. Fleetway was still struggling to get free.
"Tails… get them ready…" Knuckles said as she nods beginning to rifle through her bag for the ring inhibitors. Shadow strikes Black Doom as he falls breaking his concentration causing Fleetway to be freed. She lands on her feet and runs forward as both Shadow and Black Doom weren't paying attention she jumps up and grabs the Dark Chaos Shard from Black Doom as he was recovering.
"I'll be taking that thanks!" She said kicking him back down before he could recover then runs away.
"Shadow… it does not have to be this way." Black Doom said.
"I chose my path! And that path is your end!" She said finishing him off. Cream holds onto Blaze covering her eyes.
"Where'd Abyss go?" Fleetway said running up next to the others looking around, the Dark Chaos shard floating above her hand.
"H… he ran off." Amy said as she looks down the corridor,
"Damn, I'll have to get him later." She lets out a sigh as they all look at her confused,
"Fleetway!" Shadow yells as she lands next to her and her super form dissipates, "Give me the Shard," She walks towards Fleetway who flinches as she covers the Chaos Shard protectively.
"Not gonna happen Shads, This belongs to me and you can't have it." She said quickly collecting herself,
"Are you planning on taking us all on?" Blaze said as Knuckles finally manages to get to his feet and they all get ready to fight.
"Ha! You all couldn't beat her as Saya what makes you think you can take me?" Fleetway said,
"We'll take our chances." Shadow said, Tails and Cream had become better fighters since last time, and they had Amy now.
"Easy there Shads, I didn't come here to fight you." She said,
"You didn't?" Tails asked looking confused,
"I'm only here for this." She holds it next to her chest as it floats into her chest and disappears, "See? All done…" She starts to say as she collapses. Shadow quickly catches her before she hits the ground as her appearance slowly fades back to normal.
"Is she okay?" Cream asked,
"I'm not sure." Shadow said lifting her, "But we're not staying to find out. We prep the bomb, and we leave." She said heading towards the door.
"What about Abyss?" Knuckles said,
"He'll blow up just like the rest of them. We got what we came for, I'm not risking anything else happening." Shadow said looking down at Sonic as they all follow after her.
"She looks like she went back to normal." Tails said,
"Doesn't mean she's not still Fleetway." Blaze said,
"Should we put the limiters on her?" Amy asked,
"Wait, you brought them?" Shadow asked looking surprised,
"We technically brought them to use on you…" Cream said,
"But you pummeled the crap out of me before we could try." Knuckles said,
"Sorry again about that." Shadow said,
"Wait…" Cream said as they all stop, "The noise that was like a heartbeat is gone."
"That's because Black Doom is gone, The rest of the Dark Arms will be in disarray without a leader." Shadow said, "We should be able to get back to the Bomb and then back to the ship without any organized resistance." She said,
"Unless Abyss attacks us." Blaze,
"He was pretty injured; he may be attempting to flee completely." Shadow said, "As much as I'd like to make sure he's gone, she takes priority." Shadow looks down at Sonic again who hasn't woken up.
"We should hurry," Tails said as they all pick up the pace moving passed the Dark Arms they previously defeated and get back to the bomb.
"Do you remember how to activate it?" Amy asks as Tails starts prepping the bomb,
"Omega do you copy?" Tails reached out over his coms,
"Loud and clear. Glad to hear from you." Omega said over the coms, "Are you ready for the code?"
"I am." Tails said as she puts the code into the bomb and sets it. "I'm going to give it thirty minutes, that should give us plenty of time to get back to the ship." Tails said,
"Rogue, are you there?" Shadow said through her headset,
"Shadow? Oh thank goodness we hadn't heard from you and started to fear the worst." She said,
"We just prepped the Bomb for thirty minutes and are heading back. Have the ship ready to take off once we get there." Shadow said,
"Did you find her?" She asked,
"Yeah," Shadow said,
"You'll have to tell me about your touching reunion." She said as they all began walking back towards the ship.
"It's not as great as you're making it sound." Shadow said looking a little uncomfortable,
"You can tell me all that happened when you get here. I'm prepping the ship now," Rogue said as they continue to walk.
"What do we tell Elias?" Cream asked,
"The truth, he needs to know what happened." Shadow said,
"But what if he benches Sonic permanently because a Dark Chaos shard is inside her?" Amy asked,
"That's his decision to make. My concern is Fleetway and why she was so adamant to getting it back." Shadow said, "Not to mention she didn't even try to attack us."
"She also freaked out when Black Doom started talking about Sonic's death…" Tails added,
"That has me worried… what are we missing?" Blaze asked,
"We should ask Tikal, maybe she knows more." Knuckles said,
"Maybe we should go back to the ruins and see if there's something there about the Dark Chaos." Cream said,
"That's a good idea!" Knuckles said, "Elias has already secured the island so we shouldn't have to worry about Eggman taking us by surprise."
"We'll discuss it when we get back." Shadow said as they leave the corridor and see the ship. The Strike team looks relieved to see them.
"We were worried you were never coming back." Omega said,
"Made it back mostly in one piece." Amy said,
"Let's get off this thing before it blows." Shadow said walking past them onto the ship,
"You heard her, get in," Omega said as they all climb aboard and close the door. Shadow straps Sonic into a seat as the others also strap in,
"Is she alright? That bite looks really bad." Rogue said,
"Make sure Dr Q is ready for us when we get there. I'll clean it best I can." Shadow said grabbing the med kit and sitting next to Sonic.
"She still hasn't woken up yet…" Cream said looking worried,
"Could just be from exhaustion, she's been through a lot." Knuckles said,
"Keep an eye on her just in case." Tails said, Shadow nods and starts attempting to clean the wound as they fly out of the ship.
"Everyone be ready to brace, the bomb is going off in three, two, one." They all see out a side window as the Dark Arms ship explodes and a wave of energy blasts out causing the ship to shake.
"Good riddance." Knuckles said crossing his arms,
"I still feel bad…" Cream said as Blaze pats her head,
"You're allowed to feel bad but remember, they were planning to eat us." Blaze said as Cream looks uncomfortable.
"Why do I have a bad feeling that Abyss got off the ship too?" Amy said,
"I'm not sure, now that Black Doom is gone I don't feel anything from the hive link, if Abyss was still alive I wouldn't be able to feel it unless he was in close proximity." Shadow said as Sonic's face winces in pain from her cleaning the wound,
"That hurts…" Sonic said as she slowly opens her eyes, she looks around confused as she turns to Shadow, "H…how? Where? But we were…"
"Calm down, we're heading back to earth. What's the last thing you remember?" Shadow asked,
"Abyss grabbed me while my head was pounding. I heard voices again saying, let us in. Then it felt like I got hit by a wave, and then everything went black. Now I'm here." She said,
"Dark Sonic took over." Blaze said,
"W…what?" Sonic's ears lower as she looked horrified, "Did I? Did I hurt any of you? Please tell me I didn't hurt you guys." She asked as tears started to fill her eyes, Something she always internally feared could happen and she didn't even realize.
"Hey, we're all alright." Shadow grabbed her hands trying to calm her down noticing her start to tremble.
"Actually, she helped us." Cream said, Sonic stopped trembling as she tilts her head,
"Okay, now I'm really confused." Sonic said,
"We can talk more later, you should rest." Shadow said placing her hand on Sonic's cheek and wiping the tears away.
"You all promise that I didn't hurt you?" Sonic asked again as her ears lowered even further.
"Just threatened to break my legs…" Amy said as Shadow glares at him, "But she never even touched us." He quickly added feeling Shadow's malice from his seat.
"Try and sleep, it's going to take us a bit to get back to HQ." Shadow said as Sonic leans over and rests her head on Shadows shoulder before closing her eyes. They all give each other a concerned look.
"Aw, and you said it wasn't a touching reunion." Rogue teased,
"Not the time Rogue…" Shadow let out a sigh as all their transformations end,
"Yeah, yeah, well we'll be there shortly. Elias said he's got Dr. Q waiting for us when we get there." She said,
"Thanks," Sophia said looking over at Saya, she had already fallen asleep out of exhaustion. Sophia notices that the previous bite marks she had before she transformed returned. The bites had barely healed at all and Saya's face looks more pale. Sophia places her hand on Saya's forehead and could feel her starting to burn up.
"I don't think I want to go to space again any time soon…" Caroline said,
"Agreed, that was a lot to take in." Alan said,
"After we get Saya to the infirmary we should talk to Elias about what happened. If Fleetway was that concerned about Saya hearing something I don't think we should include Saya in the conversation until we know more." Knuckles said as they all nod in agreement. They all get a little rest as they fly back to Freedom HQ. The craft lands in the hangar bay where Dr Q, Elias and Sally were waiting for them. Sophia gets out of her seat and starts unbuckling Saya trying not to wake her.
"Let me help," TK whispered walking over and helps here,
"Thanks," Sophia said as she carefully lifts Saya and carries her out,
"How it she?" Elias asked as Sophia places Saya on a stretcher.
"I think the bite wound is infected, it's not healing like it should and she's running a fever." Sophia said as Dr. Q starts looking at it,
"You might be right; Let's get her to the infirmary." She said,
"We need to talk about what happened." Brandy said,
"Sophia, once you help get Saya in the Infirmary meet us in the conference room to discuss what happened." Elias said as she nods, and they take the stretcher down the hall.
"How's Sophia doing?" Sally asked,
"That's a difficult question to answer." Alan said, "A lot happened… like a lot a lot…"
"I don't like the sound of that…" Elias said crossing his arms,
"Why don't you all go grab some food before getting to the conference room. You all look tired," Sally said as they all nod and start heading towards the kitchen.
Sophia and Dr. Q get to the infirmary. Sophia lifts Saya and places her onto the cot. Dr. Q rushes over to the cabinet and grabs medical supplies, "Tell me about the bite."
"It was from one of the Dark Arms, Abyss. He has a venom that is similar to the nerve gas but it's beyond strong. It paralyzes in seconds. It looks like he bit her three times…" Sophia said looking angry.
"Three times? No wonder it's infected, I need to clean the wound as soon as possible so she might jump awake." She said as Sophia nods. She starts cleaning the wound as Saya jumps up.
"Ow!" Saya winces, "Oh… hey doc." She smiles,
"Hey Saya, how are you feeling?" She asked continuing to clean the wound.
"Shoulder definitely hurts and I'm a little light headed." She shrugs then winces again.
"It's definitely infected. Bear with the pain while I finish cleaning it then we'll get some antibiotics in you and some pain killers." Dr. Q said.
"Guess our healing can't fight off infections," She chuckles and looks over at Sophia, "You look like if you take your eyes off me I might disappear."
"Will you?" Sophia asked as Saya looks at her concerned,
"If it's about Dark Sonic…"
"Fleetway…" Sophia corrected her,
"What?" Saya looked at her shocked, "H… How do you know that name?" That was a name Saya never thought she'd hear in this life.
"That's what she wants to be called, instead of Dark Sonic…" Sophia said as Dr. Q looks at them both confused,
"Why are you talking about Dark Sonic?" She asked,
"She came back…" Saya said,
"I'm not liking the sound of that," She said going back to the cabinet to grab medicine.
"I have to go; Elias wants to know what happened. And you need to rest." Sophia said trying to change the subject.
"You'll come back after?" Saya asked,
"Right after." She takes Saya's hand and smiles.
"Okay," Saya said letting go and laying back down as Sophia leaves the room. She heads towards the conference room as she runs into the others leaving the kitchen carrying food.
"How's she doing?" Kolt asked,
"Shoulder is definitely infected. Docs cleaning it and giving her antibiotics to help her fight it off." She said,
"You look troubled," Brandy said,
"She got hurt because of me… how could I not feel guilty?" She said as Caroline walks next to her and places her hand on Sophia's shoulder.
"It's not your fault, you couldn't have known that Abyss would go after Saya to get to you." She said,
"That doesn't change the fact that it happened, and you were right Kolt. I should have told you all right after the first time Abyss entered my mind." She said as Kolt looks at her surprised,
"The world must be ending; I could have sworn you just said that I was right." Kolt crossed his arms as he grins jokingly.
"Maybe," She chuckles, "C'mon, They're waiting for us." She said as they continue heading to the conference room.
They all enter the conference room where Elias and Sally were waiting. Both looked expectantly as they all sit down and try to relax. "Alright, start from the beginning." Elias said as Sally opens up her laptop.
"Well, we definitely played into their hands at first," Kolt said crossing his arms,
"We entered the ship and hit resistance right as we got there. They were waiting for us." TK said,
"They didn't take any time trying to get into my mind." Shadow said,
"But we were able to help." Brandy added,
"After we secured the room the swat team guarded the ship while Omega prepped the bomb. Kolt and I carried it down the hall." Alan said as he takes a bite out of a bagel.
"I didn't hear any others coming at us, but I could hear the Ship, like it was alive." Caroline said as she shivers.
"The ship sounded alive?" Sally asked,
"Like it had a heartbeat." She said,
"It was part of the Psychic link. If I placed my hand on the walls I could see the rooms up ahead." Sophia explained, "But as we continued, Abyss lured me away from the others telling me to come alone."
"Let me guess, you listened." Elias said pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I wasn't going to risk Saya getting hurt. By then he had already injured her." She said clenching her fist.
"The bite mark?" Sally asked,
"Yeah, I assume he bit her to keep her weak. When I finally found her she was barely conscious." Sophia said.
"What happened after that?" TK asked,
"The first thing I did was make sure the breather was on her. I ripped her arm free and placed it on and she instantly started breathing better… after I went to finish breaking her free Abyss showed up. He waited till my guard was down." She explained,
"You mentioned before that you couldn't sense his presence." Brandy said,
"Yeah, similar to how he made me think I didn't see him in the kitchen when he stole my phone." Sophia explained. "That's when he and Black Doom took over, I didn't stand a chance…" She looking uncomfortable. "It was like I was there but not. As if my perception was twisted; I mistook friend for foe."
"Around that time was when we got to the place you told us to set up the bomb." Alan said,
"But before we were going to check in with Sophia I heard Saya screaming in pain." Caroline explained,
"We all panicked fearing the worst and rushed to go find her." Kolt said,
"You left the bomb?" Elias asked,
"Hey, that thing was heavy!" Alan said, "We weren't going to just stand there."
"None of us were thinking at that point." Brandy said,
"That's when we ran into mind-controlled Sophia." TK said,
"By that point Saya's screaming stopped…" Caroline added,
"I attempted to fight her and keep her distracted till TK could find an opportunity to use the ring inhibitors she made to restrain her." Kolt said, "But unfortunately, we're not as equally matched as I thought we were."
"Sorry…" Sophia said,
"Will you stop saying that." Kolt said,
"It's just… I wonder if this is how Saya felt when she wasn't in control…" She lowers her head.
"What was Abyss doing?" Sally asked,
"He just watched; he was enjoying how things were playing out." Brandy said,
"Some of the Dark Arms began to drag Kolt away after Sophia took his breather off and we started looking for the Deaths eye that Sophia explained was an extension of Black Dooms control." TK said,
"I threw my hammer at it trying to knock it down but all I really did was piss Abyss off." Alan said, "And when he tried to attack me Sonic showed up."
"She got free? How?" Elias asked, "You said she could barely move."
"When I left she couldn't…" Sophia stops, remembering Saya's pleading face when she was under Black Dooms control.
"Sophia?" Caroline calls out to her as she snaps back.
"Sorry… I just…" She takes a deep breath trying to stop herself form shaking, "She begged me to stop but I wasn't in control…"
"Did you give her the Power ring?" TK asked as Sophia shook her head,
"I think it fell out of my pocket when I rushed to put the breather on her." Sophia said,
"So it's safe to assume she somehow freed herself and got to the power ring. That gave her enough energy to fight through Abyss' venom." Brandy said,
"And take on both him and Sophia." Caroline said,
"What about Kolt?" Sally asked,
"We ran after him, Sonic asked us to leave it to her to keep them busy until we saved him." Alan said,
"You left her alone with them?" Elias looked at them surprised,
"If Kolt couldn't fight off Sophia what chance did the rest of us have? Besides, she was super charged by a power ring, we wouldn't have been able to keep up with them." TK said,
"Still… One of us should have stayed…" Caroline said,
"No, it would have been easy for either Abyss or I to grab one of you and slow her down. It was better that you all were at a safe distance." Sophia said, "And I'm pretty sure Saya knew that."
"It took us a little longer to get Kolt and run back…" Brandy said.
"What happened during that time?" Elias asked Sophia,
"Saya was able to keep us out of arms reach for a while. She attempted a number of ways to snap me out of it."
"How did she snap you out of it?" Kolt asked,
"She trapped me in a Chaos Shield which started to weaken Black Dooms control… then…" Sophia looks a little flustered, realizing she would have to say it out loud.
"What was it Sophia? It could be important." Elias asked,
"She confessed her feelings… for me…" Sophia's looks away avoiding eye contact.
"Oh!" Sally said looking shocked,
"That explains the after…" Kolt said looking uncomfortable, as Sophia coughs,
"By that time Abyss took her off guard and he bit her again. After the Chaos Shield dissipated I grabbed Saya and… took off my rings and attacked him."
"Sophia!" Elias stands up angry, "You were told not to remove them unless given permission to."
"I know, but I was angry, and I wasn't going to let him get away with what he did." Sophia said,
"That's about the time we showed back up and saw the Death Eye trying to take Saya." TK said,
"Why were they trying to take Saya again?" Sally asked,
"Black Doom said he had more questions for her." Sophia said, "Abyss also commented that Saya was fighting his poison a lot more that a normal person should be able to."
"After we woke up Saya and Kolt, we were planning to head back and prep the bomb and leave When… something came up." TK said,
"We just going to skip the best part about Sophia kissing Saya?" Alan teased as Sophia's face turns bright red,
"Alan!" She glared at him completely flustered, "T… that's not important here."
"I know, I just wanted to see what color you'd turn." He joked trying to break the tension in the room that has been building up.
"I'm seriously resisting the urge to kill you…" She said looking annoyed,
"Let's get back to what stopped you from going to go prep the bomb…" Elias said trying to get them back on track,
"Saya said there was a Dark Chaos shard." Caroline said as they both looked shocked,
"On the ship? But how?" Sally asked,
"Black Doom pulled it out of Saya…" Sophia said,
"Wait… Are you telling me there was a shard inside of her this entire time?" Elias asked as they all nod. "hold on… I didn't see any of you carry it off the ship."
"Let's finish the story first, then it'll make sense." Brandy said as they keep quiet.
"We all agreed that going after the shard and staying together was the safer option, so we went and confronted Black Doom and Abyss." Sophia explained,
"Too bad it was a very one-sided battle. We were getting beaten rather quickly." Kolt said,
"Black Doom used an attack that paralyzed us if we got hit by it." Cream explained,
"Saya used her Chaos Shield to protect anyone that couldn't move. But the more she used her ability the more she struggled. She said she started hearing voices." Sophia said,
"It was down to me Sophia and Saya and Black Doom had almost caught us when Saya stopped his attack since her Chaos Shield nullified Chaos energy," Alan said,
"But right after that she started losing focus and we were all trapped inside the Chaos Shields when Abyss went after her." Sophia said, "Right after he grabbed her… she changed into Dark Sonic…"
"No…" Sally looked terrified,
"She tossed Abyss aside like a doll and told us to call her Fleetway before she attacked Black Doom." Alan said
"Fleetway?" Elias said,
"An alter ego that was created when Sonic was first poisoned by Chaos energy in our past life." TK explained,
"Why did she attack Black Doom?" Elias asked,
"To get back the Dark Chaos Shard." Brandy said, "But Black Doom was still too strong and as he began to say something, she panicked."
"What did he say? Sally asked,
"That Sonic's death caused something." TK said,
"More than creating Dark Chaos?" Elias said,
"That's what we think, but she wouldn't let him finish. Fleetway said he couldn't tell her. And then she expended the energy she was using to keep us all in the Chaos Shields to turn Sophia Super." TK said,
"You went Super?" Sally asked as she nods,
"I fought Black Doom and won. But in that time Fleetway swiped the Dark Chaos shard from him and Abyss escaped." She said,
"What happened to the shard?" Elias asked,
"It's back inside Saya's body." Kolt said,
"Fleetway made a comment that it was hers and she turned back to normal after the Shard went back into her body." Caroline said,
"To quickly finish off the story, we prepped the bomb and left." Alan said,
"And Saya doesn't remember what happened." Sophia said,
"This is… a lot to take in…" Elias said leaning back in his chair looking exhausted.
"So not only is Dark Sonic back and they want to be called Fleetway but there's a Dark Chaos Shard inside of her body?" Sally said,
"That's the short version of it yeah…" Kolt said, as Sally's phone begins to buzz as she goes to answer it. "If you'll let me, I want to go back to the ruins and try to see if there's anything there that can help us figure out what Fleetway meant or anything else that might help us."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea Kolt, Eggman is still after you if you remember." Elias said,
"But if I'm the only one who can read the ruins, I need to be there. I don't like what Fleetway said." He said as Sally gets off the phone,
"Saya's parents are here and a guard is leading them to the infirmary." She said as Elias nods,
"Kolt, give me some time to think it over. I need to greet Saya's parents and hopefully not get punched in the face again." Elias said standing up.
"I'll come with you, I promised Saya I would come back after we all talked." She said standing up as well,
"Alright, the rest of you try to take it easy." He said as they leave the room.
"Do you really think he'll punch Elias?" Alan asked,
"Oh yeah…" TK said,
Elias and Sophia walk into the infirmary to see Saya's parents sitting next to her bed. Dr. Q quickly walks over already feeling the tension.
"I will inform you now that if you plan to have an altercation that you do not have it in here while my patient is resting." She whispered,
"I just want to know what happened." Saya's mom asked,
"Would you like the short version or the long version? Though I just got finished hearing the long version and I must say my head hurts." Elias said rubbing his temple,
"The short version will be fine for now," Her father said crossing his arms.
"Saya was abducted… because an alien race was trying to get to me." Sophia said,
"You didn't have to tell them that part…" Elias said,
"We can't twist the truth, this is my fault and I have to live with that," she said,
"Why would they be after you?" Saya's father asked,
"Is she in any more danger?" Saya's mother asked,
"From them? No. We blew up their ship." Sophia said,
"This is beyond out of hand. First the Zarkon and Eggman, then that incident at the courthouse and now abducted by aliens again?" Her dad started to get heated as Dr. Q gives him a look and he tries to calm down. "We'll discuss this after Saya is better,"
"Of course, I'll leave it to you." Elias sad looking at Sophia and she nods.
"I can explain more if you have other questions…" Sophia said grabbing a chair and sitting next to them and explains vaguely what happened.
The others were all sitting outside enjoying the nice weather trying to relax after everything that happened on the Dark Arms ship. "I'm still in a daze at all that happened… I mean, we went to space!" Alan said,
"Same, that was a lot." Caroline said,
"I hope Saya's parents aren't too stressed about all of this." Brandy said,
"You don't think they'll take Saya home do you?" Kolt asked,
"They can't even if they really want to… Eggman's still out there." TK said,
"That's not going to stop them from trying though." Brandy said,
"I understand why they are so upset. Saya has been through a lot, if she wasn't Sonic…" Caroline was trying to find the right words, "I don't think any other person besides her could go through those terrible things and still come out with a smile."
"But it's also the reason why things like this happen to her…" TK said, "Sonic has always been a target for many reasons. And I'm starting to think it has to do with whatever Fleetway didn't want her to hear."
"I'm really going to push Elias to letting me go back to Angel Island. We need more information and I refuse to be in the dark like this." Kolt said,
"We'll go with you. We're not going to give Eggman a chance to take us off guard." Brandy said,
"Thanks, I appreciate it." He said with a smile,
"Yeah you've been captured how many times now?" Alan teases, "I think three times since I joined?"
"You're pushing your luck Alan," Kolt glared,
"Hey, I thought we were talking about patterns, Saya gets kidnapped a lot, you get kidnapped a lot." Alan joked,
"You were also captured the first time we met." Brandy said,
"I wasn't even aware of who I was yet that doesn't count!" Alan said crossing his arms pouting as they all laugh.
"When did this become our new normal?" TK asked, "I don't remember what it was like before all of this."
"After Saya jumped onto that bridge proclaiming she's Sonic the Hedgehog." Caroline said as the three girls laugh,
"Huh?" Alan asked confused,
"The first time Saya transformed." Brandy clarified.
"Oh, that makes more sense." Alan said,
A few hours pass as Saya slowly woke up in the infirmary to see her parents and Sophia talking. She still felt sore and dizzy, but it wasn't as bad as before, "How long was I asleep?" Saya asked trying to sitting up,
"You don't need to get up, just focus on recovering." Her dad said,
"You've been out for a few hours. How are you feeling?" her mom asked combing her fingers through Saya's hair.
"Shoulder's still sore," She said moving her arm,
"Let's have a look," Dr. Q said walking over and starting to take off the bandages,
"You might not want to look… it's a little gross." Saya said to them,
"We're not going anywhere," Her mom said,
"Besides, we've seen you eat chili dogs." Her dad joked,
"Hey!" She attempts to cross her arms and winces. Dr. Q finishes taking off the gauze showing the multiple teeth marks on her shoulder.
"And this Abyss did that?" her dad asked,
"You told them?" Saya looks at Sophia,
"They wanted to know how you got injured." She said as Saya lets out a sigh.
"It's still pretty bad but the infection is starting to clear." She said placing her hand on Saya's forehead, "Your fever's gone down so that's good."
"Let me guess, you want me to come home." Saya said looking at her parents expectantly.
"Of course we want you to come home, but we also know that's not practical with your situation." Her mom said,
"But how would you feel about going on a vacation?" Her dad asked,
"What?" She looked at them surprised, "I don't think Elias would go for that." Saya said,
"I already talked to Elias and we both agree with them." Sophia said, "You really should get away from all of this for a few days." Saya looks sad,
"I know I'm a hassle but…Do you really want to get rid of me that quickly?" Saya asked looking at Sophia,
"I want you to be safe, and to recover from what you just went through." Sophia said taking her hand.
"We won't go until you've healed." Her mom said,
"Is this your way from avoiding telling me what happened." Saya looked at her suspiciously,
"I told you that I would tell you, but not right now." Sophia countered,
"Fine!" She said letting out a sigh, "So where are we going?"
"We thought the beach but with how much you don't like water…" Her mom said as Saya looks uncomfortable.
"We thought renting a cabin for a week and hiking would be a better idea." Her dad said,
"Well, that would be safer," Saya said, "And I'd love to run at full speed again."
"When you mean full speed…" Her dad gave an exhausted look,
"I don't think you'd be able to keep up." She chuckles as Dr. Q finishes redressing her wound.
"You really should keep resting. It will speed up the healing." She said,
"Yeah I did a lot of sleeping while I was abducted." Saya joked,
"You were also full of venom," Sophia said, "I'm going to go get some rest, I'll come check up on you in the morning." She lets go of Saya's hand and leaves, there's a silence in the infirmary for a moment.
"So, you and Sophia huh?" Her dad said,
"What did she tell you?" Saya asked as her face started to turn red,
"She didn't say anything." Her mom said with a smile, realizing that she just outed herself.
"By how Sophia explained to us what happened it was easy to figure out. And it's written all over your faces." He joked,
"Cool, I'm just going to hide under this blanket now…" Saya covers her head with the blanket.
"Oh sweetie, you're fine." Her mom chuckles,
"You guys are okay with it?" She asked, peaking her head out of the covers,
"With you and Sophia? Of course we are! Who you like has nothing to do with you both being girls." Her mom said.
"Your mom and I had a bet on if your first crush would be a boy or a girl." Her dad chuckles,
"What?" Saya said looking surprised,
"Your mom won." Her dad looked defeated as Saya's face turns more red,
"This is so embarrassing…" Saya said covering her face with her hands,
"You don't need to be embarrassed, we're just happy for you." Her mom said, "Now get some rest, we'll discuss the plan for the trip in the morning." She said as Saya nods and goes back to sleep.